DGBass

I suppose in reality a THD spec is only a sales differentiator at the end of the day for some folks. I would never claim I could tell the difference between 1% or 5% THD, or 700 and 800 watts. I'm more curious why some amp makers quote one and some don't. And why Ice Power ratings are different from the finished products they go into especially when they are higher. I only mentioned Mesa as an example where there isn't a figure on thier website. It might be in the user guide though.

Some very interesting comments and points being made in the last few pages. Perhaps veering off topic slightly on occasion, but all still relevant to the general theme of small compact solid state amps like the Elf. Personally, one of the TE Elf's biggest selling points, eg its super compact size puts me off ever having one. The constantly running fan also has the thumbs down for me for use anywhere other than a gig. The diminutive size is however the spoiler. Any solid state amps i've ever used generate heat when in use, and the harder they are used the more heat. A very small case with limited airflow around the electronics is going to need a cooling fan, and even then its probably going to get hot in a gig situation because the fan is very small, especially if the amp is plugged into a 4 ohm cab and used to its full potential. Do ELF's get hot to the touch after a three hour gig? And if they do, I wonder how long it would take for them to suffer a heat fatigue related failure being used that way? I suppose the designers will have taken that into account, and someone will have decided an expected service life for a well gigged Elf. I have nothing but respect for Peavey in general terms, I've used a ton of their bass amp products over the years and if anything they have always been over engineered. That's why you will still find the like of 260C/MarkIII amps from the seventies still being gigged and still easily repairable. Power ratings for class d amp technology has been mentioned and is something that intruigues me about how manufacturers market a product. Peavey have typically always been fairly open about power ratings, the Elf is quoted at 200w @4 ohms and also quotes a Total Harmonic Distortion figure of 1%. Recently I had an Ampeg product qouted as 220W @ 4ohms 5% THD which if adjusted to 1% THD was around 160W. That's pure marketing imho. Ice Power modules are also a black art re- power ratings. The 50ASX2 BTL amp from ICE Power was mentioned. The manufacturer rates that 170W @ 4ohms 1% THD. I have an Eden Terra Nova which has this exact module and Eden sell the amp as 225W @ 4 ohms but no THD figure. The Terra Nova also has no cooling fan but is designed to have lots of air all around the Ice Module and a vented casing. Someone also referenced Ice Power 700AS1 modules being fitted to amps marketed as 800W. I have no doubts about Peavey's specs for the Elf, but i'm super curious how other amp builders squeeze so much extra power from standard IcePower class D stuff than IcePower rate their products can deliver at nominal voltages and in suggested operating conditions. I'm sure there is someone who can explain where the extra class d power comes from once a standard module is fitted in a case! Or is it all marketing hype? 700 watts at 4 ohms 1% THD or 800watts @ 4 ohms 5%THD? Mesa as an example don't quote a THD figure for the Subway D800 amps that I can find on their sales specs. The TE1200 also doesn't spec a THD figure. Apologies for veering off topic slightly, and I'm guessing the great class d power rating and amp design debate has probably already taken place elsewhere on the forum. As @bremen mentions, a seperate thread about recent posts might be an interesting idea for any techies or curious BC ers. Are we all being diddled out of our watts these days? I'm guessing most bass players don't care and just want to plug in and play. As a rule i've found its much more noticeable that a power rating may be not quite what it seems in small class d amps than larger ones. When you are talking about an 800 watt amp, no one is going to notice audibly if its actually only delivering 700 watts. In a 225W amp that is only delivering 170W that could be noticeable. From previous posts and praise though, it seems the Elf has honest watts coming out of it despite being so tiny, so well done Peavey for including a THD figure in your specs.

Yes, OEM stuff can often be variations of retail drivers and as the vendor says, specifications can also change. Worth speaking to Ashdown about your RM cab. They are usually very helpful.

Ashdown used a lot of Sica stuff in their 2x10 300w and 4x10 600 watt cabs, 10" 150 watt 8 ohm and 16 ohm variants. This link might give you a basic idea of parameters you could try when modelling a ported solution. The Sica BP10/150 is probably as near as you'll get to the OEM version Ashdown used in some cabs, assuming Ashdown can't supply you with the parameters of the drivers in your RM cab. Again, its only a rough guide and no guarantees as OEM drivers could be specified differently from retail versions. The Ashdown Sica's of the time look identical( but probably aren't exactly the same) to the BP10/150 but with the blue ashdown label on the back. https://sica.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ZJ05820.pdf

I think every player will reach stage where they know in themselves when its time to hang up their sticks/bass/guitar/horn/etc etc. Might be a health reason, or the fun might have gone out of it, or perhaps a bit of both? Telling someone else they are too old to rock n roll is not something I'd probably never do, unless there was a real concern for their well being. In very recent times, our band had a dep drummer keel over at a rehearshal, and who unfortunately needed urgent hospital treatment. He was in his 70s and an excellent drummer, but as a band we decided not to have him back as we were doing a lot of energetic rock covers. He was ok about it, and returned to dep drumming after he got out of hospital because he chose to keep playing. His real love was jazz, and the brushes and bamboo sticks suited him better than a set of Vic Firth Slammers.

There is an old saying that goes "You don’t stop playing when you get old – you get old when you stop playing, so keep playing." It's been a mantra of mine in recent years, but I do get where you are coming from. After a good few steady years of gigging, playing, and having a ball with some of the best band mates I've ever had, a band split, a good drummer friend passing away suddenly, and trying over several months to keep new band projects with various new personnel going, has felt not as enjoyable as it once was. Were on our third drummer, and second vocalist in as many months. Trying to get everyone back into sync, and learn material has been very trying to say the least. It would be much easier for me to just hang up the bass, and sell on the gear and melt into the audience instead of being onstage. I have booked gigging comitments to give me a reason to keep going and I don't like to leave band mates in the lurch, but I can see 2025 being a challenge that might mean retiring from gigs. I'll also have a load of stuff to sell on if I pack it in next year, but I think hanging on to at least one rig is well worth it. Just incase a new project comes along, or you get that call to dep, or join a new project you might enjoy that enthuses you to keep your hand in with the bass. Oddly enough, I've just recently bought a retirement acoustic guitar 😁 It's never going to be as much fun a playing bass though.

I owned and used a pair of BF One10's playing predominantly rock music and bought them to replace a single cab with a larger driver. Great little cabs I must admit, but it took me a few months of gigging to realise they just weren't for me. The two together could never get as loud as the single cab I was using without EQ'ing out all the low end that is my preffered tone. I found them quite coloured tonally( it does say they are designed that way), prone to break up with not nearly as much power as the single cab was able to take, and because I had to take a lot of bottom end out to keep them cleaner, they sounded thinner. The other single driver brand cab I used sounded bigger, cleaner, louder, and could handle as much low end as I could throw at it without breaking up or distorting. I haven't used any of the BF XN cabs to compare, but if they are half as good as everyone says they are, I'd have one anyday in preference to a pair of One10's. Also keeps it simple as a 1 x cab setup.

Will the replacement driver be covered by warranty if you install it yourself? Just saying, as some manufacturers will sell OEM spare parts but insist an "authorised" repairer fit the part to maintain any future warranty claims.

Rehearshal for a second rock covers band project went reasonably well tonight. This was to resurrect the old band I played in that fragmented earlier this year after our drummer sadly passed away, and our vocalist left. We have two rehearshals before the first gig together with the new drummer and new vocalist. They are shaping up well and getting to grips with the 36 covers they have to learn for a 3 hour show. It's the same lineup from our other blues/jazz project. We did our first gig last week as the blues/jazz project with a different setlist and a much more relaxed and quieter setup. Tonight, I used an old 1980s Fender Sidekick 100B amp at rehearshal and it actually sounded really good and held up well with loud drums and a cranked Sessionette 75 watt guitar combo. It will work well in the blues band, but I've realised for the rock covers band I'll need to dust off my ABM setup which I haven't used in a while, as the weekend gig coming up will be a much busier venue and traditionally a louder and more rowdy gig. Now where did I put my ear protection?

The fuse holder on these amps have a handy space to stash a spare fuse. I never leave home without one, luckily so far never needed a spare. If its the input fuse that's blown, swapping it with another of the same rating( usually a T4A 250V anti surge on ABM600's - it will say on the back what your version has) and type will give you an indication of what might be the issue. If the amp powers up normally, it's likely something to do with the mains supply that blew it in the first place. If the replacement blows, its likely you have a problem with the amp. The modern transformers on these amps rarely give any problems, it could be a shorted output device(s) on the output circuit board if the input fuse is blowing instantly. ABM's are easily repaired, and Ashdown UK have great customer service. It would be well worth calling them up to have a chat with about fixing your amp.

I've tried modelling pedals and just never liked sounding like someone else's preset or my own modded version of one. I see their worth, but I use very little in the way of effects nowadays. Last few gigs in particular have been Bass -> LMB3 -> Amp. And thats it. One thing i've leaned towards is using smaller amps to mitigate gig monitoring systems and probably more for the benefit of my hearing than anything else. For the most part its really just my bass and the amp, and I kind of like the raw sound of my bass direct into a small amp set clean. By small amp I mean anything less that 150 solid state watts as that seems more than enough for pub gigs. I've also tried a dedicated power amp ( A Behringer 200w per channel/400W bridged type ) into one cab. One channel was sufficent for small gigs and bridged was even more flexible. However, I needed more front end EQ/signal to drive the power amp which just complicated things more at the very front end. The Bass -> LMB3 -> Amp( up to 150watts ) really has been a godsend of simplicity. As mentioned already, most amps have the flexibility of useable EQ, and still have a send/return to just use as a power amp if needed. And, if your modeller fails, you can still plug straight into the amp and probably hear what your bass actually sounds like as the Gods of Analogue/True Bypass intended🙂

I'll be using this setup at a low volume easy going blues gig this Thursday. The cab is a regular feature for rehearsal and small gigs and has proven itself with a few different amps. The little Ashdown class-d head was a fairly recent purchase as a back up/home studio use only but has worked really well with the R210 cab in particular. It's not my first class-d amp but is my first Ashdown class-d head. It's simple to operate and easy to get a usable tone from. Very reminiscnet of the MAG/Electric Blue pre-amp sections and i'm guessing might be like the Rootmaster heads although I havent tried them. The killer feature for me is the shape button which is just like the one on Ashdown ABM's. It gives the amp a surprising punch and low end presence. There's a curious master volume that goes up to 27 but around 13 or 14 is more than enough for a small pub sized room. Lovely warm fat tone and so far no sign of the class-d auto compression and limiting I usually associate with class-d stuff. I think its 300 watts but sounds about the same output wise as my TE GP7 SM130 head. Obviously one other bonus is that its very light.

Personally I think the shape button on an ABM is its raison d'etre and there is enough leverage on the entire EQ to still get a good clear tone without things getting muddy. I haven't played through a Digbeth but curiously with the shape disengaged on an ABM, that sound is reminiscent of the older Laney RB stuff I used to own, and a quite clean and powerful mid presence, dare I British solid state sound. If the Digbeth has any of that ancestry from the older RB amps then they might sound not unlike and ABM with the shape off 🤔

Tonight's rehearshal went much better than expected. It's the only one we could fit in before our first gig together as a new lineup this Thursday, and was the first time all four band members have jammed together. There are reasons for this as rehearsal and gigging has suffered a few setbacks of late. Sadly, my drummer buddy who was an ace tub thumper passed away unexpectedly a few weeks back, and then our long time vocalist left the band shortly afterwards. These things happen. Positives though are that with a new drummer and stand in vocalist, we didn't sound too shabby tonight. Although we are admitedly a bit rough around the edges, we are confident we will be able to put on a good show. I've also slimmed down the gear further of late as its mostly been low volume and quiet blues/jazz types weekday evening shows i've played. As tonight's jam was also a sort of dress rehearshal, I got a chance to put some miles on a recent purchase, a tiny lighweight class-d Ashdown amp to go with my well proven and gigged Laney R210 lightweight cab. Very pleased with the sound, much like a MAG with an ABM shape added in. There was no amp sliding around on the cab either for such a small box even at high volume.

There was a time where I always brought a full repair kit including soldering iron, tools, spare parts, valves, jack sockets, guitar and bass strings, plectrums, batteries etc and I was the only one in the band who had an old Boss TU-12 tuner. I recall one gig at the Cathouse in Glasgow where I repaired several guitars owned by other bands with mostly dodgy jack sockets and leads in one evening. Needless to say my TU-12 was passed around everywhere with everyone until one day it wasn't returned. I have also been the PA provider in past bands and rarely ever got any help or thanks for doing so. Things aren't so bad these days. I only jam with folks who have their own tuners and ken how to intonate their instruments. I've found that people who know how to setup their instrumetns are mostly gear savvy as well and look after their rigs well. My only "extras" contribution these days are the stands for the small powered PA speakers brought by my buddy. Everything else is for my setup alone and whittled down to bare minimum for lightness and fully checked prior to every outing. I wouldn't say I was a professional player, but it's not difficult adopting a professional mindset when it comes to my own gear, and doing my best to not be a burden to my bandmates.

I do like custom shiny Les Paul guitars, especially with Marshalls. These days though, its Fender strat style guitars with an effects processor direct into a desk/PA or a vintage Fender amp, either solid state or tube. As long as I can get a Fender style tone that is all that matters. Past glories... and more currently a humble Sonic Squier Strat + GT100

I think the Big 24 is one for the well heeled BF fans. The one in the pic is also a customised version ( special grill cloth) so its gunna be even more expensive than the web page sticker price. Still, it is an inordinate amount of money for a bass cab and probably far out of reach of the man in the street bass player doing gigs at the Dog & Duck on a modest equipment budget. However, if you want high performance and have the bucks then why not blow over two thousand pounds on a cab? You'll need a decent amp to go with it, no point in sitting your old Mag 600 on top, so maybe another £2k-£3K for the amp and of course a top of the range bass and your in for ten grand easily. Has anyone ever posted a "who has the most expensive rig" thread?. I'd hazard a guess that there would be some BF kit mentioned. I do agree that prices in general for ALL musical equipment manufactures are increasing ever more and its not a dig i'm making at BF. Their cabs have always been relatively expensive imho and will therefore be more affected by rising costs to their business if they choose to maintain the high tech crafted in Britain ethos they have built their business on.

I suppose it depends on what kind af amp head you have, eg metal case or wood case. And where you are in the world. Here in the UK i've found this supplier to have a good selection of small rubber feet for metal / flight cased amps or big chunky ones for cabs and wooden cased amps. Some of the smaller feet can also be had in several different heights. Most of these are also screw mounted as opposed to stick on. https://www.penn-elcom.com/flight-case-hardware/feet/rubber-feet

One thing with buying a used 1x12 tube combo is that good ones will still be quite pricey. One industry standard is the Fender Blues Junior, its 1x12 and 15 watts but loud enough for gigging. Most amp techs will also gladly service and repair Fender stuff. I've owned and used Marshall DSL401's, Peavey Classic 30, Laney VC30 and LC30, all great sounding 1x12 all tube combos but all suffered from the same issues as they got used and its mostly heat fatigue. This causes pcb dry joints, metal fatigue in the tube sockets and dried out components. The Peavey Classic 30 for example is a nightmare to service, just check out the online repair videos for them. I gave up on small tube stuff a while ago and decided to adopt the convenience and reliability of solid state combos. Personally, I like Fender tones and found some really nice almost vintage solid state stuff that Fender made in the late 90s that can be had relatively cheaply, sound great and are excellent pedal platforms. When you consider the average 1x12 30 watt tube combo could cost around £175 to re-tube these days on top of the cost of the combo second hand it makes sense to me at least to go solid state and invest in an amp modeller pedal or a good effects setup for all your distortion tones. That will also be much more controllable for home use. The Fender solid state combos I mentioned from around the late 90s and 2000s are eg Fender Princeton 112, Fender Stage 112SE, and the little brother Champion 110. The USA made ones if you can find them are the best but the Mexco made ones and Indonesian made ones are just as good. They are built as good as the USA tube Fenders of the era. I owned a Stage 112SE and it sounded superb but was deafeningly loud. I currently use an early USA built Champion 110( had four of them, 2 MEX and one Indonesian version, all excellent) and like the tone of the smaller 10 inch speaker. It's also 25 watts but is crazy loud and giggable, and works superbly with a Boss GT100. Its also super portable, has a true spring reverb, and is twin channel, clean and crunch. There are tons of small modern tube amps available these days which may also be worth considering. I had an Orange Thunder 30 tube head and it sounded superb, had variabe output selection to use at low volume and didn't suffer from heat fatigue as the tubes were on top of the circuit board and not hanging under it as lots of 1x12 combos have. A head and cab might be well worth considering as well but like any rig, that's more to carry and may cost more initially.

Something else to consider if you are planning to replace with a new driver, and while not as sonically important, is whether whatever driver you choose will actually fit the existing cutout hole in the speaker box. For example, the Faital Pro 15PR-400 won't fit these types of TE combo cabs or the standard similar 1153 cabs. The cast frame basket on the FP is decidely larger than the original pressed steel Trace Eliot branded Celestion speakers. The Faital Pro does however work perfectly as a drop in replacement to the bigger 1518 TE cabs. The FP might fit your cab with a bit of woodwork ( removal ) to increase the cutout size, however the front mounting flange is also very much deeper which means there is precious little space between the speaker and the grille. A large cone excursion might actually contact the steel grille. The SICA/JENSEN driver mentioned also has a slightly larger basket diameter and mounting circle than typical Celestion or Eminence pressed steel baskets. Lavoce interestingly have a wide range of pressed steel basket drivers in traditional and neo magnet configurations and these are much nearer or similar to Celestion dimensions. I was wondering why Ashdown suggested the Pulse 15 and one reason may have been that it will probably drop right in the hole and the mounting screw holes will line up. There may be other Celestions or even Eminence units that might be more suitable sonically and will fit( sorry can't suggest any!). Basically, not all 15 inch drivers are the same size🙄

I had a hankering after the Traveller 151P cab as I like 1x15 cabs but at the time they were out of stock everywhere. I then got the chance of picking up a 102P cab and it turned out to be a fantastic choice. Small, light and incredibly punchy. The tweeters on them are kinda average imho, but I don't use much tweeter anyway so it wasn't an issue. Performed flawlessly all the time I had it doing pub gigs along with an LM3 head. It was the most portable and capable rig I've ever owned and did great old school tones. Still wondering why I sold it on. Might have been the yellowness?

White Ray and White P. The Ray is sadly no longer with me. The P is my go to bass at present.

A combination of B15 & SVT. I looked at the settings and the BA combo was set to Preset 2 ( -12db cut @500Hz). The ported 1x15 cab was quite thumpy sounding. The variable horn on the combo seemed to add an edgy top end that I'd associate with an SVT. The studio also has a Class-D PF350 head but I struggled to get a usable sound from that by comparison.

I couldn't find a thread that specifically answered the question I am about to ask. Also, the reason I ask is that even though I've played through a number of Ampeg rigs and amps over the years, I've never actually owned an Ampeg setup mainly due to the crushing weight and portability problems a classic SVT rig would present for me, and thats the rig I've always wanted to own. One other reason I ask is that during a rehearshal at a local studio just recently, I played through an old Ampeg BA115 HP combo. It is alledgedly a 220 watt combo with a 1x15 speaker and a variable compression horn tweeter with L-Pad attenuator. It has a 5 position preset tone switch and curiously with my Precision with flats plugged straight in I was able to easily get that tone I've heard on so many records and at so many gigs that sits just perfectly in the mix. Its a solid state combo with no tubes but the little preset switch has straight out of the box great sounds. So, do you need and SVT head and an 8x10 to get That Ampeg Sound? and does anyone get that sound without using an SVT rig with anything else?